Canon 17 TS-E Resolution Performance by Aperture and Degree of Shift
Conclusions
Amazing but true, the center is sharp wide open with full shift. That is the great news, while the corners are a different story and demonstrate the necessity for stepping down and using a tripod when shifting the lens. Let me be clear here, corners when shifted are hideous without stepping down to at least f/8. Horizontal shifts have a less severe effect on corner sharpness and thus can handle more extreme shifts without relying on more extreme apertures. Overall I would say that f/11-13 is the best aperture for managing overall sharpness while allowing for full shifts up to +10. If you plan on maxing out the shifting and going up to +12 then f/16 will be required for vertical shifts. Take note that the corners referenced in this test are the EXTREME corners, so if your subject does not occupy the extreme corners then less stepping down will be required and thus a standard aperture opening of f/9-11 will work. This is often the case with architecture subjects unless photographing a wall that fully fills the frame, as was the case with these test shots.
Test Notes
I got a but lazy toward the end and skipped the vertical +10 shift test. You will also notice that the camera isn't perfectly aligned and that this impacts the top right corner. The impact on the resolution is made evident by the results that show the upper right corner requires more stepping down to get sharp. No tests are perfect but in general I believe that this test achieved my desired results by helping to determine the optimal aperture for each lens orientation and degree of shift.
All photos can be downloaded to your desktop. All photos were taken in RAW format and converted to JPEG with medium compression through Photoshop's RAW converter with standard presents, except and 50 sharpening verses standard 25.
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Horizontal Orientation
0 Shift Best Performance = f/8-13
Sharp Center: f/4-18
Sharp Upper Right: f/5-18
Sharp Upper Left: f/6.3-18
+5 Shift Best Performance = f/10-16
Sharp Center: f/4-16
Sharp Upper Right: f/10-16
Sharp Upper Left: f/6.3-14
+10 Shift Best Performance = f/13-14
Sharp Center: f/4-14
Sharp Upper Right: f/9-18
Sharp Upper Left: f/9-16
+12 Shift Best Performance = f/14-16
Sharp Center: f/4-16
Sharp Upper Right: f/9-16
Sharp Upper Left: f/11-18
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Vertical Orientation
0 Shift Best Performance = f/8-14
Sharp Center: f/4-18
Sharp Upper Right: f/7.1-18
Sharp Upper Left: f/6.3-14
+5 Shift Best Performance = f/13-16
Sharp Center: f/4-16
Sharp Upper Right: f/9-18
Sharp Upper Left: f/8-16
+12 Shift Best Performance = f/16
Sharp Center: f/4-18
Sharp Upper Right: f/16-18
Sharp Upper Left: f/14-18
© Chad Kirkpatrick : Witness to Beauty ® Photography